When Alexander Valentine received the call regarding Zera, he began to shake uncontrollably. Clearing his entire schedule, he rushed to the medical center where she and her friends had been confined.
Startled and shaking his head in disbelief, he clenched his hands into fists as he watched his unconscious daughter lying inside a special room with her friends in it.
Mysie Xavier was there too, pacing back and forth, and so was Mayor Mizuni. Surprised that his daughter was able to make such friends, he turned to her, seeing part of his reflection against the glass window.
The oxygen tank stood on each side of the children's beds and they were steadily breathing, but according to the report he had received, they haven't woken up since then.
They were isolated, as their case was unknown. They had fallen into a state of coma, but they weren't seemingly in a fatal condition.
Before coming to the medical center the night before, Alexander Valentine had a strange dream. He found himself standing in the middle of a white space.
For a minute, it occurred to him that he must have died. But several minutes later, the atmosphere had changed into a bluish hue, giving him the chills as blue smoke arose in his surroundings.
Amidst the arising mist, a silhouette of a woman came clear to him. Squinting to take a better look, he thought he saw three horns protruding on top of her head, which were pulled backward. Her long white hair was carefully braided behind her.
He had wanted to see what the woman looked like. She was wearing an off shoulder feather dress in gray and it cascaded down her feet.
However, she had her back to him.
"Hello?" Alexander Valentine tried to call out. He gulped back his fear of the unknown and who the woman might be.
"Valentine." Her voice rang loud and clear, echoing in his vast surroundings. Alexander valentine stepped forward tentatively.
"Yes? Who am I speaking to? What's happening?"
"I'm the only one allowed to ask questions in this scenario. Aren't you even more concerned about why you're here?"
"I am. But I want to understand what's going on before trying to learn why I'm here. This is nothing but a dream."
He heard a melodious chuckle.
"Is it?" The woman replied. "It could be. However, we're not here to talk about whether this is a dream or not."
"Okay. What do you want then?"
"You do not know me. Or maybe you do." He watched as the woman slightly glanced his way. He still couldn't get a better hold of what she looked like.
"What do you mean? What are you even?"
There was another chuckle.
"I guess they buried it so well. But a wrongful deed shall never go unpunished. You may have escaped my wrath. But I will tell you this. Your children will suffer the consequences of what your ancestors have done. And their suffering is your suffering too."
Laughter erupted, echoing all around him. That was the last thing that he remembered before waking up from that strange dream.
Staring at Zera's unconscious form and the unknown cause of her comatose state, he began to feel scared.
Stepping away from the crystal window that allowed him to see his daughter's condition, Alexander Valentine pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
He waited for the other end to pick up. On the third ring, he finally heard the person he wished to speak to say hello.
"I need to speak with you right now."
–
"ROOOOOOAAAAR!"
The entire ground shook as the enormous beast lunged for Zera and Jaspreth.
Pulling her arm, Jaspreth dragged Zera to evade the two large paws which the big bear was about to slam on the ground where they were standing.
"I don't know how we can actually start attacking that thing, but we need to think fast!" Zera declared.
Jaspreth nodded, huffing as they jumped and almost lost their footing when the ice residue from the bear's paws slamming on the ground showered over them.
Halting and turning to face their enemy, Zera and Jaspreth raised their weapons.
"Well, we've faced head-on bigger monsters like this in some games, haven't we?" Jaspreth chuckled nervously.
"Those were unreal, Jay. That," Zera pointed the tip of her samurai sword towards the bear whose size was five times larger than any tall building she had seen. "Is no joke. Plus, we don't know what will happen if it beat us in losing our health points."
"I don't even want to try any experiment on it."
"Neither do I. One thing which I'll hate the most if ever that happens is that I might end up having to fight you guys."
Jaspreth muttered a curse.
"I wouldn't want that either. So let's do a better job in defeating this beast, as I'm sure the other three will be joining us soon."
"How much attack damage do you have again?" Zera looked at Jaspreth, to which he replied with a shrug.
"Profile."
[Player Name: MasterTrickster]
[Gender: Male]
[Player level: Beginner]
[Class: Fighter]
[Affinity: Crow]
[Mana Points: 750]
[Attack Damage: 1350]
[Weapon: Axe of the gods lv.1]
[HP: 700]
"Oh," Zera bit down on her lip. "So, we got added points if we passed the level. Huh. Profile."
[Player Name: Charm]
[Gender: Female]
[Player level: Beginner]
[Class: Support]
[Affinity: Hawk]
[Mana Points: 800]
[Attack Damage: 1300]
[Weapon: Sword of doom lv.1]
[HP: 700]
It was Zera's turn to mutter an indescribable curse. Combining their attack points, they only have 2650 per one attack they make.
The beasts in front of them have a hundred thousand health points left. By the time they beat it, they'd be sore and would need an hour's sleep before being able to move along to the next level.
How would they even make it out alive?
"We need a miracle." Jaspreth breathed.
"No," Zera contradicted. She watched the bear make a beeline heading towards them. Because of its enormous body, it couldn't move as swiftly as they could.
An arrow flew towards it, barely grazing the bear's fur as it whisked it away with its paws like swatting a fly.
"We need to make the miracle happen, Jay. I think I have an idea." Zera didn't take her eyes off of the big boss.
"Care to explain before it actually reaches us?"
"Our weapons won't do the work. We need something large to make a difference. I'm not sure if this would work, but there's nothing to lose if we try."
"Okay. So, you want us to find something to hit it with? Perhaps a large stake with a sharp edge?"
Zera nodded.
"The thing is: we don't have time to make one. However, you have an axe. Let's make use of that."
"Hold on, you want me to start chopping trees? Is that it?"
Zera blew out a sigh.
"Sort of, yeah. But it needs to be cut unevenly to make the sharp edge."
Jaspreth's eyes widened.
"Oh dang! Z, your idea got me fired up."
Zera flipped her hair and smiled at Jaspreth.
"Of course. Aside from charm, I can be smart, too."